Leading constitutional lawyer Anne Twomey has today warned that serious problems remain with the Albanese Government’s Misinformation Bill – and concluded that “It could all go very wrong.”
In her opening statement to the final Senate inquiry hearing into Labor’s Bill, Professor Twomey said she worried that by “ineffectually” trying to tackle online misinformation, that:
“…we create worse problems through large scale censorship of contested views and the undermining of democracy in the name of cleansing it from misinformation.”
Professor Twomey highlighted concerns about leaving it to the digital platforms to make calls about what was misinformation, questioning:
“… the capacity and the will of digital platforms to make these very difficult assessments and judgments in a fair, informed and consistent manner.”
She said that for the Government to rely on fact-checkers, as set out in the Bill, would be an issue, as she did not have complete confidence in their work as they are not always right:
“If they are relied upon to censor vast swathes of comment on particular contentious matters, that would be very problematic.”
Professor Twomey also disputed assertions from the Government that ACMA will not be the arbiter of what is misinformation and would not be making decisions on removing content. She pointed to the Bill’s power to “conduct investigations” into claims of misinformation which would be used to inform itself and advise the Minister. It would be difficult to do so without itself making an assessment about what content amounts to misinformation, she said.
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said today’s evidence by Professor Twomey provided a damning assessment of the Government’s Misinformation Bill.
“This was a striking statement from a highly respected legal figure,” Mr Coleman said.
“These criticisms strike a dagger in the heart of Labor’s Misinformation Bill.
“Professor Twomey’s conclusion that ‘it could all go very wrong’ backs up the views of thousands of Australians who have made strong submissions firmly opposing Labor’s censorship Bill.”
Shadow Minister for Communications
Member for Banks
Hon. David Coleman MP